2 kill Raj auto driver for resisting sexual assault bid, arrested

Agra: Two men accused of murdering an autorickshaw driver for opposing sexual assault bid were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Agra district, police said on Monday. On Feb 14, Vijaypal Singh (38) of Dhaulpur in Rajasthan was found dead in a drain in Saiya police station area of Agra, which is close to the UP-Rajasthan border.An FIR was filed on Feb 17 under BNS Section 103(1) (murder) on a complaint of Vijaypal's brother Hukum Singh, who identified the body. Police teams were constituted, and arrested Vishnu Kushwah (20) and Amit Shukla (25).According to DCP (Agra West) Aditya, the two men allegedly attempted to sexually assault Vijaypal after hiring his auto for Rs 300. "The accused consumed liquor in the autorickshaw and when the driver resisted, they brutally assaulted him, forcibly stripped him, pushed him into a drain and held him under the water until he died," the DCP said.The alleged crime was committed near the railway overbridge on Saiya–Iradatnagar road, and his auto was found parked near it, said police, adding his clothes and footwear were also found at the spot.During interrogation, the accused men said that on Feb 14, Vishnu and Amit came to Saiya town crossing and hired an auto for Rs 300 to go to Maniyan and return, with the plan to get dropped at Ladukheda bus stand.Station officer of Saiyan police station Gurvinder Singh said, "Accused Kushwah and Shukla (are history-sheeters. Vishnu had spent eight months in jail in a Pocso case, while Amit also faced a case of assault."Vijaypal is survived by his wife and two children.